Last week I shared about my love for the Thanksgiving season, along with a whole bunch of Bible verses to get you in the habit of praising and thanking God. This week I’ll share one way you can get the kids involved in giving thanks with a craft (because what kid doesn’t love crafts?!).
Each November I attempt a craft with my kids to help them acknowledge the things and people they are thankful for in their lives, and to help them to remember to give thanks to God. Just a couple of weeks ago we were given some paper lunch bags and I immediately thought of using them for a craft project. I did a quick Pinterest search and discovered a few ideas for paper books, most of which I didn’t have the supplies for.
To be honest, I’m not a very creative person. Most of the things I do don’t look spectacular, but they do get the job done. And if you aren’t crafty either, don’t worry! This project is more about getting your kids to talk about being thankful than actually doing the project itself. So don’t worry if it doesn’t look pretty (mine certainly didn’t).
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Paper lunch bags or paper grocery sacks (or any paper, really)
- Markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint…whatever you have on hand
- Glue sticks or white glue, or staples and a stapler (we used glue sticks)
- Scissors
- A Bible
If you are using anything other than paper lunch bags you can skip the first step. All you really need is some paper sized sheets to glue or staple together.
1. Open a paper lunch bag and cut down one of the sides. Then cut out the bottom of the bag and lay the bag flat. Trim the edges to resemble the size of a small book (it doesn’t have to be perfect). Do the same to all of the sheets you’ll need. I used 5 bags per book for a total of 10 sheets.
2. Using a glue stick or liquid white glue, glue down the spin of the first sheet and lay the next sheet on top of it. Do this for all five sheets. Lay something heavy on top of the glued books (we used a cast iron pan, but you could use a stack of heavy books or anything else you have on hand) and let them dry. If you would rather staple them, line all the sheets up and staple them along the spine.
3. Once the books are dry, get out the crayons/markers/pencils/etc. to decorate your books with. On each sheet, ask your children to write down one thing they are thankful for and draw a picture resembling that. Or, get out your Bible and look up some of your favorite passages about giving thanks and praising God and write them on a couple of the pages. If you need some ideas, check out last week’s post. We also traced each person’s hand and asked them to write someone or something they can pray for on each finger. Use your imagination, and get your kids talking!
I would love it if you showed me pictures of you and your children doing this project or one similar to it. And please let me know if you have any questions or comments! Would you like us to pray for you? Just leave us a comment below or send us an email. Have a great week!
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